This invention relates generally to panel edge gasketing and, more particularly, to improved gaskets which can be applied to panel edges to obtain a hermetic seal about the perimeter of the panel with significantly reduced resistance in the application of the gasket to the panel and significantly enhanced withdrawal resistance and sealing efficiency.
The present invention will find application in a wide range of areas where it is important to obtain airtight and/or weatherproof seals about the perimeter of a panel in order to prevent air and moisture from penetrating from the exposed side of the panel through to the panel edge or past the panel edge through to the protected side of the panel.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,518,792 and 3,886,686 to the present inventor, for example, illustrate an important application for panel edge gasketing in door closure seals for container doors in cargo boxes, semi-trailer vans, truck bodies, railway freight cars and the like. These patents describe a resiliently deformable channel 10, as depicted in FIGS. 1A and 1B, adapted to be fit about a panel edge 12 and carrying an opposite dynamic closure gasket generally designated 14 in FIG. 1A. Channel 10 is defined by a pair of upstanding legs 16a and 16b, each of which includes along its distal edges pliable leading tip portions 18a and 18b which are contoured to project inwardly to provide an intimate, resilient engagement with opposed sidewalls of the panel.
Unfortunately, these leading tip portions engage the face of the panel edge, as depicted at 20 in FIG. 1A, interfering with the assembly of the channel to the panel edge. Indeed, the leading tip portions often bend under as the panel is forced into the channel, as generally depicted at 22 in FIG. 1B, requiring the channel to be repeatedly backed off to unfold the leading tip portions. Also, in the course of this repeated folding under and backing off operation, the pliable tips are often deformed, impairing the integrity of the seal which they are intended to provide at the panel sidewalls.